Oct 24, 2026, 12:36 PM2. The server admin opts in by configuring the server relay interface.
You can argue that a server admin shouldn't configure relays for their users. That's not the state of Fediverse software today, though. Server admins make a lot of decisions for their users, and configuring relays is one of them.
It's probably a good argument to bring up with the Mastodon devs and your server admins.
Oct 24, 2026, 12:37 PM@prutser Unlike other relay software, tags.pub notifies individual users that their posts have been shared. They can also opt out, even if their server admin opted in. Again, no other relay software does this.
Oct 24, 2026, 12:39 PM@prutser and that's it! We used to also reshare public posts distributed on open-subscription relays, but we turned that off because there were too many intermediaries. It surprised people when they got the notifications.
Oct 24, 2026, 12:40 PM@prutser we exceed, by a lot, the other relay software in terms of informed consent. Even on controversial ideas like personal hashtags, we err on the side of consent.
Oct 24, 2026, 12:48 PM@prutser hashtag feeds in Mastodon show remote public content without a chance to opt out and without notification.